Crucible for exothermic and like reactions



Lit

Patented Mar. '17, 1925,

UNITEDSTATES JOHN H. nnrrnnnn, or wnnnawnnn, NEW JERSEY. .assrenon T0 METAL & 'rnnnmr CORPORATION, or CARTERET, NEW JERSEY, .A oonronn'rronon nnwannsny.

onUcIBLn non nxornnninic AND LIKE nnnorrons.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, JOHN vH. DEPIELER,

a citizen of the United States, and a resi-f the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it make and use the same.

The invention relates to an improvement in crucibles and similar receptacles for use in effecting reduction of metals by means of metallic reducing agents, and more espe cially for effecting eXo-th'ermic reactions l1 which metal and slagaregenerated, as for example the well known thermit process, in which various ores and oxides are reduced by means of aluminum; the invention also finding efficacious application to simi lar reduction processes, wherein other ele ments, such. silicon, manganese, etc, are employed as reducing agents and from which fluid slags result.

It has been customary in effecting GXO- thermic reactions, as for example thermit welding and similar operations, to employ appertains, to

cricubles provided with the most refractory linings, the material best suited for the pur pose being magnesrte, wluchis used 111 its dead burned condition with anhydrous taras a binder. In: applying the linings the mixture of magnesite and tar was'usually rammed'into a sheet iron shell to form an interior coating or lining of an. inch or more in thickness. was then baked, and the lining formed a hard, resisting, refractory coating which would withstand the extremely high temperatures of exo-thermic and similar re-.

actions for considerable length of time, the smaller sizes of crucibles, so lined, being available for 30 or more charges, while the larger sizes of crucibles would serve effectively for only relatively few charges, after which the lining which had been gradually washed away or eroded by the highly heated molten products of the reaction, had to be knocked out and the shell relined. various othermaterials such as carborundum, carborundum fire sand, silica and the like have been employed in making up refractory linings for crucibles of thischaracter, but

The shell with its lining Application filed February 9, 1925. Serial No. 8,528. I

when thelined crucibles were employed in effecting the eXo-thermic reduction of 'steel,

the material'of the lining was found to injuriously contaminate the steel bythe I introduction therein of silicon, carbon etc. Magnes te has given, therefore, the best results as a. lnnng material, and has been most generally employed, especially, in exothermic reactions involving "the production of molten steel, as that part of the Lining that is eroded by the high heat enters the slag, leaving the steel free from cont-amina-r tlon. Because of the relatively short life of the refractory linings, 'zeretofore employed, and the necesslty c2, frequent renewals, extensive investigationslhave been crucible, or a fork. lining material,

which would Withstand the high heat;pro duced by the reactions ofv the character indicated, and the present": invention is predicated upon the discovery that a crucible or similar receptacle made of metal,

made for the purpose ofv developing a preferably steel or iron, solves thcdifficulty I resulting from, reaction, of the character indicatec'l,fevidenc'es a strong affinity for metallic surfaces, and adheres to the same with great tenacity, and protects the surfaces from the melting or eroding'effect of the molten metal resulting from the reaction.

In the 'case of the thermit. reaction, the

mixture of iron oxide and aluminum is ignited in one spot, and reaction propagates throughout the mass with great rapidity, so thatcwithin 20 or 30 seconds the entire mass has reacted, forming molten iron or steel and molten alumina slag. These ma.- terials separate from each other rapidly and, in fact almost as soon as they are formed, because of the great difference of their specific gravitiesi The slag is formed in all parts of the reacting mass and in separating from the molten metal, a considerable portion of the molten slag ,ofthe charge comes in contact with the interior surface of the crucible, and because of the tendency of the same to adhere to a metallic surface, if thecrucible be made of metal, preferably steel or iron, the molten slag will immediately form a surface coating there on 'andprotect the metal of the crucible from the deleterious effects of the molten metal. It has been found that a simple metal crucible, or a. crucible with a metallic lining, will be thoroughly and completely protected bythe slag formed in the reaction,

so that the latter may be carried out directly in the metallic crucible and the resultant steel and slag tapped from it without impairment to the crucible.

In designing a crucible of the character indicated, it is necessary to provide suflicient thickness of the metal walls as toenable the heat of the reaction to be conducted away from the inner surface of. the Wall rapidly enough to prevent such. inner surface'being actually melted and, with. such a crucible, there is absolutely no need for a lining of any kind, except the slag. lining that is formed during the reaction. The maintei ance of a relatively cool inner surface of the crucible wall, due to the dissipation of the heat by the metal wall, will immediately effect achilliug of the thin layer of slagdeposited on the Wall, said slag layer setting up into apasty condition and preventing further contact between thehighly molten metal and the inner wall of the crucible. Although this slag coating is usually very thin, probably in the neighborhood of of an inch, nevertheless it is seemingly a sufficiently poor conductor to prevent the melting of the inner wall of the crucible by the heat generated in thereaction mass within the crucible. No hardand fast rule to determine the thickness of the crucible walls can be made, but a more or less general rule is that the thickness of the crucible walls is such as to provide sufficient metal to conduct away enough heat to prevent melting or fusion of the inner surface of thewall through the nonconducting slag coating formed in the reaction and deposited on said surface. it is desirable to make the walls of-the crucible a little thicker than the application of this general rule would require. A practical crucible complying. with the conditions of the rule and which has been used for some 2420. reactions without evidencing any impairment, and is still. in activesservice, has the following general shape and dimensions:

Form: Erusto-conical,

Over-all height: 13

Inside diameter at top: 101/ Inside diameter at bottom: 1%.

W all thickness: 1 at all points.

Capacity: Approximately 15 lbs. thermit.

"llaterial: Ordinary cast steel.

This particular crucible after its long period of use shows practically no impairment, although it has, in several instances,

As a general proposition,

been subjected tothe severest possible tests, in which the entire reaction mass has been allowed to freeze or solidify in the crucible, the heat of the reaction being gradually dissipated through the walls, heating the latter to redness at or about the midhei'ght of the vessel, but in no Wise impairing the metal fabric. After the mass within the crucible had cooled, it was knocked out Without injury to the crucible.

Such metallic crucibles have been employed extensively with uniformly good results, and it found that the crucibles gradually acquire a lining or interior coating ofadherent slag, and when after a number of reactions this slag was knocked out, the crucible was found to be in practically the same condition as when originally made and will serve its intended purpose indefinitely without impairment. An obvious advantage of the crucible formed of, metal such as steel, is that it may be roughly handled without i-.iury, Whereas the old types of crucibles lined with magnesite or' other refractory materials requiredthe most careful handling under all. circumstances, to avoid cracking or otherwise damaging the lining. The new crucible may, of course, be made in any of the preferred or desired forms or shapes employed in operations ininvolving the exo-ther1nic or similar reactions, such as the flat bottom type, or that with a tap hole in the bottom. When the latter type is used the crucible may be provided with a replaceable niagnesite form at the bottom, out of which the thermit steel is tapped, which form is the same as that now used in the magnesite lined crucible and which protects the spout of the crucible from the wash of the highly superheated thcrmit steel during the tapping operation.

What I claim is:

1. A receptacle for use in .efl ecting the reduction of metals by means of metallic reducing agents comprising a metal crucible of sufficientwall thickness to chillon its inner surface a thin layerot slagproc need by the reaction.

52. A receptacle for use in effecting exothermic reactions comprising an initially unlined metal crucible of sutiicient wall thickness to chill on its inner surface a thin layer of slag produced by the reaction.

8. A receptacle for use in effecting e110- thermic reactions comprising a metallic crucible of sufficient wall thickness to con vey away sufiicient of the heat of reaction to prevent fusion of itsinnersurface, said crucible having a lining of slag produced by the reaction.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN 'H. DEPPELER.

1,530,359.J0/m H. Deppeler, Weehawken, N. J. CRUCIBLES FOR EXOTHERMIC AND LIKE REACTIONS. Patent dated March 17, 1925. Disclaimer filed May 2, 1925, by the patentee, the assignee Metal (5: Tlzermlz't Corporation, consenting. Hereby enters his disclaimer to all of the claims of said Letters Patent, Which are as follows, to Wit:

to prevent fusion of its inner surface, said crucible having a lining of slagpro duced by the reaction.

[Ofiaz'al Gazette May 19, 1925.] 

